WOODLAND — A Jan. 6 sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Alamar Cyril Houston, who was convicted last week of assault and other charges for a day-long crime spree that left multiple people injured.
Houston, 40, faces at least 36 years in prison following a brief court trial Friday during which Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg found true six case enhancements regarding Houston’s prior felony convictions and prison terms.
Alamar Houston. Enterprise photo
Dating back to 1998, Houston served prison time for second-degree robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of drugs in prison and escaping from custody.
His latest conviction stems from his actions on June 30, 2015, when Houston stole two vehicles, using one to strike and injure a motorcyclist in Sacramento and three bicyclists near Clarksburg, then punched a West Sacramento store clerk before leading police on a pursuit that ended in his arrest.
A six-man, six-woman jury convicted Houston of assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run with injury, vehicle theft and other counts, but rejected more serious charges of premeditated attempted murder against the bicyclists — a decision that stunned and disappointed those victims and their families.
The monthlong trial had proceeded to a sanity phase Thursday when Houston, without explanation, suddenly withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Dean Johansson, had argued that Houston suffered from a long history of mental illness and was in the midst of a psychotic break on the day of the crime spree.
Johansson has declined to comment on Houston’s decision to withdraw his plea.
But the sanity phase did not seem to be going well for Houston, whose sole witness to testify on his behalf Thursday opined that the defendant suffered from “serious and persistent” schizophrenia when he committed his crimes.
Davis psychiatrist Dr. Captane Thomson said he based that opinion on two 20-minute meetings with Houston — who walked out of both evaluations at the Yolo County Jail — recent jailhouse medical records and a phone conversation with Houston’s mother, who claimed a family history of mental illness.
Thomson said Houston spoke of “grandiose thoughts” and hearing voices in his head, and denied any memory of hitting the cyclists.
“I believe his capacity to think, to plan, to act rationally was severely affected by his mental condition at the time of this terribly disturbed behavior,” Thomson said when asked by Johansson whether Houston could understand the nature and quality of his actions.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Garrett Hamilton, however, Thomson admitted he hadn’t reviewed any additional documents regarding Houston’s mental state, including reports from Atascadero State Hospital and a Sacramento County Jail psychiatric team that concluded Houston was malingering, or faking, symptoms of psychosis to avoid punishment for his crimes.
When Hamilton reminded Thomson that his office had provided him with those reports on several CDs a year ago, Thomson said he had been unable to open the files on his computer, and he never took a look at them.
“It would certainly make me question whether my opinion is supported by other people’s evidence,” Thomson said. “I would look at that very seriously.”
Thomson also acknowledged that his contact with Houston, which occurred last year, was to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, and he never evaluated him a third time in the context of his insanity plea.
Houston remains in Yolo County Jail custody pending his sentencing hearing.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene